


Phineas and Abby's Rainy Night

by shopgirl152



Series: His Best Days [4]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fatherhood, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Married Life, One Shot, Parenthood, Prompt Fic, Quality Time, Rainy Night, Raising a family, Slice of Life, Story a Day May 2015, Storytelling, Thunder and Lightning, being a dad, being a family, being a father, family life, father daughter bonding, late night father daughter bonding, parenting, scary storm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:24:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4742771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopgirl152/pseuds/shopgirl152
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" Abigail ran into her parents’ bedroom, jumping onto the bed and burrowing under the covers. "Big scary monsters outside my room! They're making loud booming noises!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Phineas and Abby's Rainy Night

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by ["Rip Van Winkle" (Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, Don't Wake Your Mom, Track 6) (1992)](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/142145) by Smokey(TheBear)125. 



> Prompt: Write a story inspired by a memory from your own life.

"Daddy Daddy Daddy!" Abigail ran into her parents’ bedroom, jumping onto the bed and burrowing under the covers.

Phineas stirred, eyes slowly opening before his gaze turned to the little girl curled between him and Isabella. He yawned. "Hey Abby. What's wrong?"

"Big scary monsters outside my room! They're making to much noise!" The five year old popped up from underneath the covers, eyes wild. "They're making loud booming noises!"

"Booming noises?" Isabella rolled over, placing a reassuring hand on her daughter's back. "It's just thunder Sweetie. It won't hurt you. It's what the sky does when there's lots of electricity."

"Well that's what most people say." The red head winked at his daughter. "What's really happening is the little men who live on Danville Mountain are having their bowling league. The sound you hear is the sound of the bowling balls hitting the pins."

"Phineas, that's just an old Danville legend," Isabella pointed out.

"Isabella, you're _talking_ to a Danville Legend."

She laughed.

"Huh?" The girl blinked in confusion.

"Long story," Phineas explained. "One story of many actually."

"Oh." Abigail looked between her parents. "So who's right?"

"Technically your Mother." Phineas reached over, pulling the five year old into his lap. "When it's really stormy like this, there's lots of static electricity. It builds up in the sky until the sky can't take it anymore. That's when you hear the boom."

A flash of brilliant light lit up the room and the little girl buried her head in her Father's neck a moment before slowly pulling back, looking up at him. "What was that?"

"That's just lightning. It's more buildup of static electricity."

"Will it hurt me?"

"No. You're safe inside this house. Lightning's not dangerous as long as you have shelter." Another flash lit up the room and the red head started counting.

"Daddy, what are you doing?"

He continued counting until the sound of thunder was heard. "Three seconds. When you see the lightning, count the seconds. Whenever the thunder cracks, the number of seconds you were at tells you how far away the storm is. That was three seconds, so the storm's three miles away. It's not directly over us, but it's still pretty close."

"Mommy's asleep."

Phineas cuddled his daughter as his gaze fell to his wife, a soft smile crossing his face. "Yes. Yes she is." The smile turned to a playful smirk. "She's a regular Rip Van Winkle."

"Huh?" Abby crunched up her face in confusion. "Rip Van Tinkle?"

"Winkle."

"Who's that?"

"I never told you the story of Rip Van Winkle?"

"No."

The red head scooped his daughter into his arms before climbing out of bed, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck before wrapping her legs around his chest. "Come on Abby; let's go back to your room. We'll open the blinds, watch the lightning and I'll tell you all about Rip Van Winkle."

* * *

"Okay Abby, you ready for the story?"

"Yeah!" The five year old grabbed a pillow, holding it against her chest as the storm raged outside, her eyes widening as a bolt of lightning lit the sky. She frowned. "Are you sure we're safe? It's awfully scary outside."

"Absolutely." Phineas leaned against the headboard, pulling Abigail into his lap. "If it gets to scary or you get sleepy, you tell me okay?"

"Okay." A loud clap of thunder was heard and the girl buried her head in his chest, the muffled sound of counting following. After a few seconds, she looked up at him. "That was one second."

"Yeah. We're right in the middle of it. It should pass in a few hours." The red head frowned, rubbing the girl's back in thought, watching as another bolt of lightning filled the sky. "You know what Abby? You're right; it _is_ awfully scary outside." He slowly peeled the girl off him, stepping off the bed and crossing to the window, closing the blinds. "There. The storm's less scary if we can't see it right?"

Abigail nodded, watching as her Dad grabbed a sheet from the bed, dragging two chairs and one of the bedroom lamps across the floor. "Daddy, what are you doing?"

"Just a second." Phineas placed the two chairs several inches apart before draping the sheet over them, pulling the lamp behind it. He lifted the shade off the lamp before turning on the light, squinting at the glare. He dropped down behind the makeshift curtain, pointing the lamp towards the sheet. "Shadow puppets!"

The girl giggled.

"We just need one more thing." He emerged from behind the sheet. "Abby, may I borrow your recorder please?" She nodded and the red head grabbed his daughter's voice recorder from the bookshelf, disappearing behind the curtain again. "Ladies and...well, lady, may I present to you the story of Rip Van Winkle!"

He turned on the recorder, rapping into it while his fingers made accompanying shadows on the sheet. "I can tell a story about an unfortunate fellow who fell asleep. Slept for years. The story's based upon the fears people used to have when they heard thunder!"

An accompanying clap was heard outside and the girl's eyes widened in amazement. "Daddy, how did you do that?"

He poked his head around the sheet. "Magic." Abigail giggled as her Father disappeared behind the sheet again. "They'd listen, they'd wonder, about whether that rumbling sound was bowling balls rumbling on the ground."

She gasped. "Like the little men that bowl on top of Danville Mountain!"

"Exactly. Well one day, many many years ago, before you were born and before Mommy and I were born, there was a little village at the bottom of Danville Mountain. A man named Rip Van Winkle lived in this village and one day he went out to hunt for food..." the red head formed his fingers and hands so they looked like a man. "Unfortunately, Rip Van Winkle wasn’t very lucky and he wasn’t very good. In fact he was so unlucky that he got lost in the woods. While trying to find his way back, he ran into a little man with a long black beard."

"Was it a bad beard like the treasure of beards you found when you were little?"

"Nah. His beard wasn't nearly as cool. Anyway, the strange thing was, he didn't say a word, just beckoned Rip Van Winkle to follow him. The little man led Rip Van Winkle to the very top of the mountain and the higher they climbed, the louder the thunder got. Until they reached the very top of the mountain. And do you know what was on top of that mountain?"

"What?"

"A bowling alley." Phineas grinned at the look on his daughter's face. "And there were more little men, each one bowling. Every time a ball hit the pins, Rip Van Winkle could hear a clap of thunder. And there was lots of thunder, because the little men were really good players."

"Did he get to play?"

"He did!" The red head emerged from behind the curtain, clicking off the lamp. "Rip Van Winkle wasn't good at bowling either. But he had lots of fun. In fact, he had so much fun that when he went back home, he laid down in bed and fell asleep for twenty years." He sat down on the bed, smiling as Abigail yawned, crawling into his lap. "Which is what you should be doing."

"Not sleepy."

"Really? You sure look sleepy."

The girl reached over, grabbing her blanket before curling against him. "Daddy?"

"Yes Abigail?"

"Can we watch the thunder and lightning again?"

Phineas climbed off the bed, readjusting the girl in his arms before crossing over to the window and opening the blinds. A night sky full of stars greeted them, a brilliant moon shining through a crack in the few remaining clouds. "Looks like the storm's over." He glanced at the girl in his arms. "Abby?"

No response.

The red head smiled as he walked back over to the bed, setting the girl down before tucking her in. He leaned down, placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Sweet Dreams Baby Girl. I love you."


End file.
